Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Every legend needs a foil, a sideman
who is talented enough to stand out but instinctive enough to know
when to pull back. Walter Lure was all that and more when he joined
and became an integral part of seminal punk band, The Heartbreakers.
The original line-up was the equivalent to the Olympics of NYC punk;
founder Richard Hell, who had recently skipped out of Television,
Jerry Nolan and Johnny Thunders, both from the groundbreaking and
newly imploded New York Dolls. Then there was the dark horse of the
group, fresh from a local band called The Demons, Mr. Walter "Waldo"
Lure. Richard Hell didn't stay too long, with Johnny and Walter
taking over vocal duties and Billy Rath joining in on bass. It was a
band of stars, but the one that has my love and undying attention has
got to be Walter Lure.

Lanky-looking, with sharp features
(the best eyebrows in the rock&roll biz!) and often dressed like
a businessman who said screw it and became an artist (quite
appropriate since his day job involves working on Wall Street), there
is only one Walter Lure. I first noticed Lure in the wee hours of
night, right before sunrise, one booze-soaked night when my then
boyfriend, now husband Chuck threw on his VHS copy of “Johnny
Thunders: Dead or Alive.” While I was already familiar with
Thunders and some of the work of The Heartbreakers (thank you Rhino
Records), getting to see the band in action was a gift. Trash rock at
its finest and while no one in their right or wrong mind could deny
the star power of Thunders, it was the figure of his rhythm guitarist
that caught my eye.

Anyone who has seen Lure can understand
why. He's the figure of a wise-ass dandy who is a born and bred rock
and roller. The man's got the musical chops down, knowing enough to
be dangerous but also being wise enough to not wank his ability. Even
better, the cat's got a wicked sense of humor and is still playing
great music nowadays with his band The Waldos. Now an elder
statesman of punk, Walter Lure still has more rock and roll authority
in one of his neck ties than anyone you're gonna see at your local
club.

So you can have your phoney boloney
guitar hero wankers and punk rock poseurs, because anyone truly in
the know should have a special place of reverie for the man. Walter
Lure is more rock and roll than any butt-rock beer commercial band or
Elvis-guyliner-sneering-friendly-for-commercial-airplay wharf rat.